


DJ's Story

by Reader88



Series: The Utopian Knights [6]
Category: Boyz n the Hood (1991), School of Rock (2003)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-13
Updated: 2014-06-16
Packaged: 2018-02-04 13:50:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1781356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reader88/pseuds/Reader88
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>DJ Malone is an African-American boy growing up in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn and is being raised by his single mother until she tragically dies. DJ loves music and dancing, especially hip-hop and break dancing and desires to become a musical star.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I imagine DJ Malone looking like child/teenage actor Oren Williams. He's well-known for playing Keith Ellis in the movie "Rebound".

Roxanne Malone remembered when she found out she was pregnant. Her boyfriend, who had claimed he loved her, had turned her back on her stating, "The boy definitely ain't mine." He gave her money for an abortion but she refused to abort her baby. On March 10th, 1974, Darnell Julius Malone came into the world. Roxanne vowed to be the best mother she could possibly be. Darnell was supposed to named after his grandfather, Julius Malone, but the first name and middle name had mistakenly been reversed on his birth certificate.

Darnell grew up on Herkimer Street in the neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, a predominantly working-class black neighborhood known as one of Brooklyn's worst neighborhoods. Spray painted on the walls of the 'hood was the neighborhood's motto, "Bed-Stuy, Do or Die." You'd be surprised by how many young boys died before they reached the age of twenty-one. Statistics showed that one in twenty black males would be killed before they turned twenty-one. Most of them would die at the hands of another black male. Roxanne tried to shield her son as best as she could from the influences of the ghetto but she was a single full-time working black mom. There was a good chance that Darnell wouldn't live to see his twenty-first birthday. Roxanne had instructed Darnell on how to avoid trouble and to come straight home from school with his latchkey. Darnell knew how dangerous his neighborhood could be and vowed to stay out of trouble. But this wasn't easy.

When Darnell got into grade one some kids jumped him after school because he was taking his books home to do his homework. Darnell was forced to fight them off with his fists and run all the way back home. Darnell soon signed up for martial arts lessons at a local dojo so that he could defend himself. Darnell's mom worked as a taxi driver. The pay was great since New York City traffic is among the worst in the world. The longer a taxicab stayed on the street the higher the fare. Roxanne always came home in time to cook dinner and asked Darnell how his day was. Darnell never told her about the bullies and just replied, "Fine, Mom." But Roxanne received phone calls from Darnell's teachers about his unruly behavior. He insulted his teachers and other students and got into several fights. His teachers told Roxanne that he was very intelligent but that he couldn't seem to stay out of trouble. Darnell said, "I don't go looking for trouble. Trouble comes looking for me. That's the way it is in Bed-Stuy."

Darnell's favorite part of the day was listening to his mother tell stories about growing up in Birmingham, Alabama during the Civil Rights Movement. Roxanne had been a part of the Children's Crusade and often spoke about how the black activists used words to combat the hoses, bats, and dogs used on the protestors. They fought to make America free, not just for themselves, but for their children and children's children. They were led by Fred Shuttlesworth, a preacher and minister from the Bethel Baptist Church, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Roxanne also told the story of the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church which killed four little girls. Roxanne said the city experienced so many bombings people nicknamed the city, "Bombingham." Roxanne had been in the church when the bomb went off during Sunday services and walked away with a broken arm, a mild concussion, a severe asthma attack, and a lifelong case of claustrophobia, which is a fear of enclosed spaces. Roxanne remembered Dr. King autographed her cast.

Bed-Stuy is considered the center of black culture in Brooklyn. Darnell's neighbors told him stories about Bed-Stuy's history. Brownstones in Bed-Stuy were sold to blacks who migrated to New York from the South during the 1930s since Harlem, Manhattan was getting overcrowded. Bed-Stuy had a solid tradition of private home ownership, good schools, and air that is relatively free of smoke and this created the second largest black community in New York. In 1964 race riots erupted in Harlem when an Irish-American NYPD lieutenant, Thomas Gilligan, shot and killed an African-American teenager, James Powell, who was fifteen. The riot spread to Bed-Stuy and resulted in the destruction and looting of many neighborhood businesses, many of which were Jewish-owned. Relations between the NYPD and the black community were strained since the police were seen as instruments of oppression and racially biased law enforcement. Following the 1964 election, Robert F. Kennedy was elected as the US Senator for the State of New York and talked to the residents of Bed-Stuy in the local churches. He told them that they were American citizens who deserved decent homes, decent education for their children, safe neighborhoods, and better opportunities. Residents of Bed-Stuy hoped that Bobby Kennedy would run for President, just like his brother, John F. Kennedy, but he was assassinated on June 6th, 1968. To honor Bobby Kennedy, a sculpture of him was made in Restoration Plaza on Fulton Street, which was just a block away from Herkimer Street. Darnell's neighbors also remembered supporting the campaign to elect Shirley Chisholm as the first black Congresswoman. Shirley Chisholm was elected to Congress in 1968, representing New York's 12th Congressional District, and on January 25, 1972, she became the first major-party black candidate for President of the United States and the first woman to run for the Democratic presidential nomination. The Black Panther Party also had their Brooklyn headquarters in Bed-Stuy and aided the black Brooklynites with several aid programs, including free breakfast programs for school-age children, free health clinics, free dental care, clothing supplies, and GED classes. They also set up night classes to teach African-American and African history and infuse black pride into the blacks of Brooklyn.

Darnell fueled that pride even further when he discovered the wonders of music. Darnell's favorite musician was Michael Jackson. The  _Thriller_ album, the music videos, the Moonwalk. Michael created magic and Darnell wanted to do the same thing. He was one of the few kids on the block who mastered the Moonwalk and could mimic the dance moves he saw on MTV so he became very popular. When Darnell was eight years old his best friends Dookie, Malik, Miami, Tyriq, and himself created a hip-hop group called The Drop Squad. They mostly breakdanced on street corners and competed in talent shows. The Squad decided Darnell needed a gangster name so they nicknamed him "DJ Malone." DJ loved his name and dedicated his extra time to the group. DJ learned how to rap and beatbox and took over as The Squad's head choreographer. DJ could often be seen wearing Nike sneakers, a backwards baseball cap over his messy hair twists, four rings on each hand, and a chain necklace. He modeled his appearance after Mr. T's jewelry, Julian Lincoln's hair twists, and some street-style fashions. DJ inherited his love of music from his mother who sang in a gospel choir when she was young but couldn't pursue her musical dreams because of her asthma. Roxanne encouraged her son's love of music since it kept him from running with a gang. DJ's main inspirations for his vocal style came from Michael Jackson, James Brown, Prince, and Rick James. But he sampled from other hip-hoppers such as LL Cool J, Run-D.M.C., Public Enemy, and The Beastie Boys, who advented the new school of hip-hop. Hip hop music developed out of block parties in The Bronx, where deejay s isolated the percussion breaks of popular funk and disco songs, and emcees began rapping over the beats. Hip-hop and rap soon became the most popular genre of music in Bed-Stuy and soon every kid was busting rhymes and breaking it down on the street. DJ was determined to use his musical gifts to get himself and his mom out of the ghetto and to a better life.


	2. Chapter 2

One day when DJ was coming home from hanging out with The Drop Squad he heard his mom arguing with someone.

Roxanne yelled, "How come I have to threaten you with child support to feed your own son?"

Michael McClaren sneered, "I just came to tell you to stop calling my house in Queens. You're upsetting my girl. I don't care if you and that boy starve to death."

Roxanne asked, "What kind of father lets his own son starve? That's just evil."

Michael said, "I never cared about you or that boy. I even gave money for an abortion. If you had that abortion we wouldn't be standing here arguing."

DJ finally burst in and Roxanne exclaimed, "Darnell!"

Michael said, "Hey, boy. Wassup?"

DJ asked, "Mama, how come you're begging like this? We don't need his help. I can make things happen on my own."

DJ stormed out of the house in anger. He knew he shouldn't be out on the streets at night and ran into one of his friends, Tyriq.

"Yo, DJ, wassup?" asked Tyriq.

DJ replied, "Not good. My father refuses to pay child support and he pretends that I don't exist."

Tyriq said, "That's tough but at least you and your mom look out for each other."

DJ asked, "What's wrong with black fathers? How come they don't care about their kids?"

Tyriq said, "I dunno. I guess we're more trouble than we're worth. There are tons of kids on this block and only a few fathers. My mom says that any dick can make a baby but it takes a real man to raise some children." DJ looked at his watch and said, "I better get home or Mama will worry."

DJ hurried home and when he heard the sound of gunshots, he ran even faster. When he got home his mom hugged him tightly. "Darnell, I was worried sick about you. You know you shouldn't be out on the streets at night."

DJ replied, "I know and I'm sorry."

Roxanne said, "Now listen, Darnell. Your father may not care about us but I'll always have your back. Understand?"

DJ replied, "Yeah, Mama."

Roxanne said, "Good. Now let's eat dinner."

One Friday night DJ was sleeping peacefully in his bedroom. But he heard a noise in the living room, a lot of shuffling. DJ went to his mother's room and saw that she was still in bed. DJ shook her awake, put his hand on her mouth, and said, "Be quiet, Mom. I think someone's trying to break into the house."

Roxanne took out her Colt 45 from a shoebox underneath her bed and tiptoed to the living room. DJ followed close behind her. Roxanne hopped into the living room and fired three shots. A black man in dreadlocks yelled, "What the hell?!" He didn't appear to be carrying anything. DJ was wondering what this guy was trying to steal when the dreadlocks man jumped out the window. Roxanne fired three more bullets but he was long gone. Then Roxanne and DJ sat on the stoop waiting for the police.

Roxanne said, "Where are the cops? I called almost an hour ago."

DJ said, "It's like Mr. Willis said, ya can't trust no one in a uniform."

Then an NYPD squad car stopped at their brownstone. Roxanne told DJ, "Just hush, Darnell, and let me do all the talking."

A white police officer said, "Ma'am, you called about a break-in?"

Roxanne said, "Yes, officer, that was about an hour ago."

Then a black police officer said, "Whoa, we didn't ask you that."

The white police officer asked, "Did you shoot him?"

Roxanne said, "I fired at him with my piece but he got away."

The black officer said, "If you were a better marksman there'd be one less nigga in the streets we'd have to worry about."

DJ glared at the officer and thought,  _If I was Mr. T I'd give that black trash a royal beat down._

Roxanne asked, "Do you want me to describe the guy?" The white officer said, "No, since he didn't steal anything there's no need to make out a report."

The black officer asked DJ, "Yo, kid, what you starin' at?"

DJ gave the black officer his most murderous glare and Roxanne said, "He's constipated. Go in the house, Darnell."

The black officer asked Roxanne, "There a problem, ma'am?"

Roxanne replied, "Yeah, there's lots of problems, it's too bad you don't know what they are." Roxanne led DJ back into their brownstone and put him to bed.

The next day DJ walked around the corner to Fulton Street so that he could buy candy with his best friend Tyriq and the rest of The Drop Squad. Dookie said, "Anyone want to see something?"

The rest of the boys asked, "What?"

Dookie said, "I ain't sayin' what. You wanna see it or not?"

DJ said, "Sure, lead us to it."

Dookie led the boys through some back alleys and showed them bullet holes and bloodstains in the walls.

Malik asked, "What happened?"

Dookie replied, "Whaddaya think happened? Someone got smoked. There's holes in the wall and blood everywhere."

DJ asked, "Is anyone afraid of getting killed?"

Miami said, "I ain't afraid to get shot. I'll just use my brother's piece; it's a .45 Caliber Automatic Pistol. He gave it to me for safekeeping while he's in the slammer."

DJ said, "My mom's gotta gun. It's a Colt 45. But I definitely ain't allowed to use it. My mom finds out that I'm shooting niggas she'll bury her foot so far up my ass I'll have toes for feet."

The next week was Career Day. Roxanne took DJ all around New York City in her taxicab. They saw different 'hoods in Brooklyn, such as East New York and Brownsville, and other 'hoods in New York City, such as Harlem, the South Bronx, and Jamaica.

Roxanne said, "I want you to take a good look at the blacks in the 'hoods of New York. I don't want to see you gettin' beat up because you're in a gang, selling drugs on a street corner, or ending up a drunken fool like these guys who practically live at the liquor stores. I want something better for you. Understand?"

DJ nodded yes. They also visited affluent neighborhoods, such as the Upper East Side of Manhattan, Brooklyn Heights, and Park Slope. Roxanne said, "There are plenty of black brothers and sisters who live here. Most of them haven't forgotten where they come from and send money down to the 'hood. But most wouldn't dare be caught setting foot there. They feel that the blacks in the ghetto are beneath them and forget that they used to be stuck there, too. If you ever make it out of the ghetto don't forget where you come from."

Roxanne also drove to John F. Kennedy International Airport, the world's busiest international air passenger gateway in the United States. There were so many people coming and going, so many planes landing and taking off. DJ hoped that one day he would get on an airplane and travel the world. DJ wrote a report about the wonders of New York City and presented it to his class.

His friend Tyriq wondered, "How come people live good in places like the Upper East Side of Manhattan while we're stuck in this living hell?"

DJ said, "'Cause they got money which is something our parents can barely bring home." Tyriq said, "What's up with America? How come we don't do see nothin' good just 'cause our families are poor and black?"

DJ said, "I dunno. Civil War, racism, unawareness of the state of the poor." DJ was able to see how everyone in the 'hood was trapped in a system that was designed for them to fail. DJ knew the odds of getting out of the ghetto were a million to one but he still had to try.


	3. Chapter 3

One day Roxanne received a phone call saying that her mother, DJ's grandmother, had died. The funeral was being held in Birmingham, Alabama in the summer of 1983. This was the first time DJ had taken trip outside of New York. Roxanne checked for a bus leaving for Birmingham, Alabama in the summer and prepared for their upcoming trip to the South. On the day they left they went down to the Port Authority, one of the few places in New York City scarier than Bed-Stuy. Roxanne warned that there were rapists, child molesters, pickpockets, con-men, and thieves. DJ had learned how to deal with criminals his whole life from growing up in Bed-Stuy. DJ watched their bags while his mom bought the tickets. Once they got the tickets they got on the bus and rode for three days all the way to Alabama.

When they got there early in the morning, DJ and Roxanne were greeted by a man named Clem. DJ said, "Looks like Chicken George has rolled out the welcome wagon."

Roxanne slapped him upside the head and apologized, "Sorry for my son Darnell's bad manners."

Clem said, "I hope he finds them before Mama Dear hears him. She knows how to make kids behave."

They got into Clem's Ford, which looked like it had survived the Vietnam War. DJ looked at the city and tried to compare it with the Birmingham from his mother's stories. Things seemed pretty peaceful and all signs of Jim Crow had been erased decades before. They soon drove up to a small house where Mama Dear lived. Roxanne called her that even though she wasn't her mama. Several friends of the family were there to meet her and DJ. DJ's cheeks were pinched so many times his face felt sore. Mama Dear used to be good friends with Roxanne's grandparents, who had both been lynched by the Ku Klux Klan. Roxanne's grandfather, Victor Wilcox, talked to some Washington reporters about what living in Alabama is really like. He was doused with kerosene and set on fire. Roxanne's grandmother, Angela Wilcox, had been beaten with a pipe for accidentally using a "Whites Only" restroom. She slipped into a coma and died a week later. Roxanne's father, Julius Malone, was a high school math teacher and her mother, Lena Wilcox Malone, was a music teacher. When Roxanne grew up she moved to New York City instead of going to college like her parents wanted. But taxi drivers made more money than schoolteachers. A year after she had settled in New York, Julius Malone died from cancer. Even though Roxanne told her mother that there was plenty of room in their house on Herkimer Street, Lena Malone refused to leave Alabama. Now that she was in Heaven she would finally be reunited with her husband.

It was hard to get used to Alabama. Birmingham was like an oven. The fan barely cooled DJ down and he ended up sleeping on the floor because it was somewhat cooler than the bed. The only music DJ could find on the radio was country and western, which he called hillbilly music. The neighborhood kids were seriously lacking in style since they all wore clothes that looked like they came straight out of page six of the Sears catalog. The kids all thought DJ dressed like a criminal but were impressed by his dance moves, especially the Moonwalk. Michael Jackson had debuted the dance move on  _Motown 25_ a few months earlier and it was a tricky move to master. DJ taught them the Moonwalk and how to rap. Roxanne also showed DJ the Black Historical Sites around Birmingham. There was the Birmingham jail where the children had been detained during the Children's Crusade, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, the Bethel Baptist Church, and the graveyard where Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley were buried. Southern blacks were very religious and always made sure their families were up early for church. The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church was a bit bigger than the Shiloh Baptist Church in Brooklyn. The biggest difference was that Sixteenth Street Baptist had a stain glassed window of a black Jesus. Roxanne said it had been donated to the church by the people of Wales after the church bombing. There were other things to see and stuff to do, such as checking out the Birmingham Zoo, the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, and the Birmingham Museum of Art. DJ had to admit that the tourist sites were cool but not as cool as the Prospect Park Zoo, the Apollo Theater, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

After the funeral Roxanne's friend, Aretha Turner and her husband Rufus Turner, drove Roxanne and DJ to Tuskegee so that they could spend time on the Turner farm. Roxanne took DJ to Tuskegee University so that he could see the campus. Julius Malone had fought in World War Two with the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American military aviators in the United States Armed Forces. Roxanne also told DJ that the first black students helped build the school with bricks from a brickyard that they created and ran. Booker T. Washington became the first principal of the university and he was a historical figure that her father greatly admired.

DJ said, "I'm either gonna be a rapper, dancer, or basketball player. There's no money in teaching."

DJ was forced to help out on the Turner farm by milking cows, chasing chickens, and slopping hogs. DJ got in trouble for punching Gideon Turner in the face because Gideon had called him "a lazy, weak, city boy" when he dropped a bale of hay that was for the cows. If you mess with a Brooklyn boy you pay the price. Gideon made it up to DJ by teaching him how to fish at a nearby river. The Turners also took the Malones to the county fair where the Turners won the blue ribbon for their bull, El Diablo. There was also a competition to see who could win four prize geese by guessing how many jellybeans were in a jar. You had to pay a dollar to put in your estimate, you had to come back at 5:00 sharp to hear the judges' decision, and the four closest estimates would win a goose. Gideon won a goose when he guessed there were 475 jelly beans when in reality there were 552.

DJ asked, "Why do you need a goose? You already got lots of chickens." Gideon explained, "We'll save this goose for Christmas dinner. When Mama seasons this with herbs from her garden and stuffs it with her secret stuffing recipe it's the best dish anyone's ever eaten."

When DJ accompanied Gideon to a neighboring cotton plantation to help him deliver fresh milk and eggs he was introduced to Mr. Raleigh Malone, the owner of the plantation. Mr. Raleigh Malone said that the plantation had been in his family for generations. DJ thought it was a coincidence that Mr. Raleigh Malone had the same surname as him. In fact Mr. Raleigh Malone looked a lot like his grandfather, Julius Malone.

Mr. Raleigh Malone said, "My ancestor Seamus Malone started this plantation. His parents left Ireland for a better life. The family was so poor they ate dirt. But Seamus worked hard to earn money to buy his first acres and was able to buy two slaves to help him work the land. With some hard work he created a successful cotton plantation. The Malones had slaves but some left after the Civil War. Others stayed behind to sharecrop. Well, the Malones have been here for a hundred years and we'll be here for a hundred more." 

When they got back to the Turner farm DJ asked his mother, "Are we related to Mr. Raleigh Malone?"

Roxanne gave him a long look and said, "Yes."

DJ had read that blacks had white ancestors because white plantation masters and overseers often raped black women. DJ had read about it but even though Mr. Raleigh Malone seemed like a nice man he didn't like the idea of having white relatives.

Roxanne said, "Look, I know you don't like the idea of having white relatives. It's true that the Malones owned slaves and, as a result, owned their own children. Ella, our ancestor, was raped by Master Terrence Malone and gave birth to Moses Malone. When Abe Lincoln passed the Emancipation Proclamation, he left the Malone plantation, traveled to the Tennessee Valley, and fought for the Union in the Civil War. After the war ended he moved to Huntsville where he got two jobs: at a cotton mill and as an undertaker. Working blue-collar jobs for low wages was what the Malones did until my father decided to go to Fisk University and got his bachelor's degree in mathematics. Plus, did you know that we have Indian ancestors?"

DJ said, "Really?"

Roxanne said, "Oh yes, on my mother's side. One of our ancestors, Virgil Wilcox, escaped from his master in Georgia and found refuge with a tribe of Seminole Indians."

DJ interrupted and said, "Mama, the correct way of saying 'Indians' is 'Native-Americans.'"

Roxanne said, "I'm sorry. The Seminoles are a Native-American tribe who resided in Florida and gave refuge to runaway slaves. But they were forced to leave their land and travel a long distance to Oklahoma because white people wanted to build more cotton plantations in Florida. Virgil, his wife, and his children marched with the Seminoles through the Trail of Tears. My mother's father, Victor Wilcox, was born in the Seminole Nation but became a center fielder in the Negro baseball league. The last team he played for before he retired was the Birmingham Black Barons. He worked as a high school coach and saved up enough money to send my mama to Alabama State University. So that's the story of where my mother's people came from."

DJ said, "Wow! This is like watching _Roots_!"

Roxanne said, "Don't ever forget those stories of where we come from. Like Alex Haley said, there's a deep yearning that stays with us to discover our heritage, no matter what we achieve in life."

The Southern blacks' lifestyle of lazy Sunday afternoons, good home-cooked meals, and trips to the county fair differed greatly from life on the mean streets of Brooklyn. However, DJ decided that even though he liked to visit the South he wouldn't want to live there. The weather was too hot, the soul food was too fattening, the Ku Klux Klan was still lurking around, and people acted too country. There was no way he could live in a place that had only hillbilly music on the radio and no breakdancers on the street corners.

After the funeral DJ and Roxanne went back home. They usually spent their summers visiting Coney Island and Prospect Park. Sometimes Roxanne would take DJ to Manhattan and they would see a famous tourist attraction such as the Museum of Natural History or go on a ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. DJ and Roxanne were both unaware that their Alabama summer would be the last summer vacation they would spend together.


	4. Chapter 4

Roxanne Malone suffered greatly from asthma since her mother smoked cigarettes while she was pregnant causing Roxanne to be born with permanent lung damage. As the years went by Roxanne grew weaker and weaker.

On March 17th, 1984, a week after DJ turned ten years old, his teacher received a phone call from the principal telling him to come straight to the office. DJ wondered what he could be in trouble for. When he got to the office Principle Matheson stated, "DJ, your mother is dead. She passed away after suffering a severe asthma attack." It took a while for the words to hit full force until DJ realized that he was alone in the world. The tears rolled down his face and soon DJ was crying full force. Principal Matheson tried to comfort him to no avail.

The funeral was held a few weeks later. The whole neighborhood turned up to say good-bye. DJ was soon sent to a foster father who lived in a different section of Bed-Stuy because his father had moved out of Jamaica, Queens and left no forwarding address. If Michael McClaren was in New York he would probably say, "I ain't payin' for no funerals and that boy is none of my business." The only other family DJ had were the Seminole tribe and the white Malones. But DJ knew there was no way he was traveling all the Oklahoma to reconnect with a Native tribe he knew almost nothing about. The white Malones in Alabama definitely wouldn't accept him as family since most whites refused to acknowledge that they were related to African-Americans. When DJ was practicing dancing in his room, his foster father would come in and yell, "Would you quit all that hopping around? I'm trying to take a nap!" He would then grab DJ by the collar and beat him. DJ soon had bruises, black eyes, and bloody noses. DJ's friend Tyriq offered him solace and DJ acknowledged him and The Drop Squad as the brothers he'd never had.

When DJ was frustrated he would shoot hoops at the local basketball court. Dribbling the ball always released DJ's tensions and sinking the ball into the hoop made him feel good about his possibilities. DJ knew some boys in the 'hood played basketball in the Hustlers' League. It was called that because all the hustlers in the NYC 'hoods organized and sponsored the inner-city basketball league. Black boys were split into different teams and competed against each other until one team won the championship. Each member of the winning team received $10'000 and the most valuable player won a $25'000 grand prize! DJ thought, _If I don't make it in music maybe I'll make it into the NBA._

Soon The Drop Squad wasn't just competing in dance contests but in crime sprees. They would all dress in black, grab their guns, and then rob stores. DJ would yell, "Freeze, motherfucker!" The store owner would hold his hands up and let The Drop Squad rob the liquor store. The extra cash helped DJ buy new Nike sneakers, athletic wear, and other gangster clothing. Blacks gotta dress for success.

Unfortunately, DJ and The Drop Squad got in a fight with a rival group over a contest. The rivals claimed The Drop Squad had cheated at a talent show but DJ told them, "Fuck off." That's when the switchblades came out. Tyriq was stabbed in the neck and DJ held his hand while he died. After Tyriq was taken to the city morgue DJ went to his foster home and took his mother's Colt 45 out of his secret hiding place. After Roxanne's funeral DJ had packed up all his stuff and decided to take his mother's Colt 45. DJ thought,  _I might have to teach a nigga a lesson._ DJ went to Brownsville and found the supermarket where Tyriq's murderer worked. DJ had dressed entirely black and hid in an alley. When he stepped out of the supermarket and exposed his head, DJ shot him. Then DJ quickly slipped through the alleys and got back to Bed-Stuy. The murder was so perfect that the police were never able to figure out who did it. DJ's martial arts training was in the art of ninjustu. A ninja is silent and one with the night. Ninjas are masters of silent death. A ninja kills only when necessary. DJ was forced to use the Colt 45 again when gangsters hunted down and killed Dookie, Malik, and Miami but was never caught for any of his murders. There are countless murders in the 'hood that remained unsolved. But when DJ realized that soon someone would try to smoke him he decided to run away from Brooklyn.

DJ packed up his belongings and sneaked aboard a truck heading for Manhattan. There DJ sneaked aboard a truck for Paterson, New Jersey. When he got to Paterson he found himself shoplifting, pickpocketing, and doing other petty crimes to survive on the street. He then sneaked aboard another delivery truck heading for Pittsburgh and started a new life as a homeless teen. He narrowly avoided death as he started to wander through the dark streets of his dead end life. Who knows what would have happened to him if he didn't wind up in South Side Chicago...


	5. Chapter 5

DJ got off a train he had hitchhiked on and found himself in Chicago. It was smaller than New York but there were sure to be ways for a black boy to survive here.

DJ found his way to the South Side. DJ remembered seeing the South Side of Chicago on the news in Brooklyn. The high crime rate, increasing illegal sales of drugs, the increasing high school dropout rate, the gang wars, and the graffiti-stained walls were all signs that the South Side had just as bad a reputation as Bed-Stuy's. Maybe even worse. DJ soon found himself eating out of garbage cans to survive. He then decided to break and enter into someone's house to see what food they had in their kitchen. People broke into brownstones all the time in Bed-Stuy. Nobody could afford a proper security system or even a watchdog so it was common for people to wake up in the morning and find their TVs, VCRs, records, and silverware gone.

DJ waited until midnight and picked a random house. DJ picked the lock to the backdoor and found his way to the kitchen. He decided not to turn on the light and looked around in the kitchen. He found a cookie jar and began to eat chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies. When he lived in Brooklyn he didn't like oatmeal cookies but when you're hungry you'll eat anything. Then someone turned on the light and yelled, "What the hell...?"

DJ froze and wondered what his odds were of racing to the door and avoiding this white woman's wrath. The white woman asked, "Are you a thug or a gangster?"

DJ shook his head. She then asked, "You're stealing cookies from the cookie jar?" DJ nodded. The white woman sighed and said, "Let me make you a proper meal."

Soon DJ was eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with an apple and some Kool-Aid. The white woman's name was Mrs. Miller and she soon woke up the rest of her family to introduce them to their "guest." Mr. Miller and the three kids, two boys and a girl, eyed him suspiciously. The little white girl commented, "You sure eat a lot."

DJ replied, "I haven't eaten a decent meal in ages."

Mrs. Miller said, "When you're done you can sleep on the couch. We'll drive you over to a place where other orphans are taken care of."

DJ asked, "How do you know I'm an orphan?"

"Lucky guess, dear. By the way what's your name?"

DJ replied, "DJ, it's short for Darnell Julius." DJ was then allowed to sleep on the couch with a blanket and went into a sleep deeper than any he had had since his mother's death.

The next day after Mr. Miller left for work and the kids left for school, Mrs. Miller drove DJ to The Unconditional Orphanage on 3500 Crestwood Boulevard. Mrs. Miller knocked on the door and a big black woman answered the door.

"Good morning, Big Mama. I have a new member for your family. This is DJ Malone and he needs a home."

Big Mama warmly said, "Come on in, child. You need some lovin'."

Big Mama set DJ up in a bed in one of the boys' rooms and gave him a tour of the orphanage. Big Mama seemed warmer and nicer than DJ's foster father in Brooklyn but DJ wasn't ready to fully trust someone he just met. DJ was soon acquainted with Kimberly Morris and Alicia Anderson who also worked at the orphanage. Soon the kids got home from school and DJ was introduced to the rest of them. When Nick Cannon got back from Ben's Garage and Ricky got back from cleaning at the University of Chicago, DJ was a little wary since he didn't have fond memories about men from Brooklyn. But Nick and Ricky's faces radiated with happiness and pleasure when they met DJ. DJ decided that since everyone seemed nice he would stick around and then decide whether or not to run away again.

School was almost out for summer and Big Mama decided to enroll him at Susan B. Anthony Junior High School in September. While DJ was reading a comic he heard someone singing. He saw it came from the basement and went downstairs to see who it was. DJ saw a young black kid around his age playing a Wurlitzer and singing Stevie Wonder's "My Cherie Amour."

DJ asked, "You like music?"

Tevin responded with, "No, I love music. Do you love music?"

DJ replied, "Hell yeah, I love music. I'm originally from Bed-Stuy. I was with a group called The Drop Squad. I was a rapper and head choreographer. I can spit some rhymes for ya."

DJ soon started rapping some songs by LL Cool J. Tevin said, "You got some real talent. Let's woodshed together." Soon Tevin was instructing DJ in voice exercises and DJ was showing him breakdance moves he had learned from the ghettos of Bed-Stuy. Big Mama came down to the basement, saw them singing and dancing together, and decided to let them be. DJ knew there was no way he was going to run away again.


End file.
